Global economic crisis influences IBA World Tour title race

July 18, 2013 |Bodyboarding

The IBA World Tour is living an unstable season with several events to be confirmed until the last minute, due to political and economic factors.

There are only two stages left to crown the 2013 IBA World Tour champion, and many doubts in the air. Puerto Rico has been cancelled, and South Africa and Gran Canaria are supposed to hold Grand Slam Series (GSS) events. The problem is that they are not fully confirmed.

In the Global Qualifying Series (GQS), the Rio Bodyboarding International is not confirmed. Two other events - Espirit de Santo and Bodyboard Pro Festival - follow the same rule.

The International Bodyboarding Association has announced that there will be only five days of waiting period for the Encanto Challenge 2013. It will have to be run between October 23th-27th, as a GQS stage, not as a GSS contest.

The only confirmed event is the Sintra Portugal Pro, which will run from 27th August to September 1st and will feature GQS, Drop-Knee and Women's World Tour divisions.

The 2013 Grand Slam Series (GSS) rankings has two leaders. Ben Player and Amaury Lavernhe are tied in the first place with 5900 points. They are closely followed by Jeff Hubbard (5660 points), Dave Winchester (4840 points) and Pierre-Louis Costes (4680 points).

There are still 6000 points to be delivered, and anything can happen in the 2013 IBA World Tour title race.